Apr 23, 2011

Moto Gear: BOOTS!

I'm looking for some cool duds to wear on my new bike, Runkle. I thought I'd start small with boots since I'd love a pair for off road use. I'm currently styling in my Danners (goretex) while cruising around town. I'd like something that offers a bit more support that's easy to put on and can take abuse better than the leather of my Danners. I hate scratches and knicks in stuff, so a knicked toe and I'm peeved.

Icon Hella Womens Street Boots

I started checking out various sites and when I looked at women's boots, well, this is black and red two buckled dream came up. I think the Icon's are a pretty sweet pair of boots and if I were going out on the town I know they would impress my friends. But, on the bike? How can I be taken seriously when I'm wearing heels on a dual sport? (I do like the colors, though!)

Oneal Element Boots

Ok, that was fun, now onto some serious boot reviewing. My next attempt was to just type in "women's motorcycle boots" in Google. Everyone loves a good Google (or two). What I found was not impressive to say the least. There were various versions of black boots with different heels that are supposed to make you look sexy while riding (I don't look sexy anytime so why try to when I'm riding?) and other boots that were very "chunky" (which I can relate to) that appear to be made mostly for girlie Harley riders who want to look macho. Finally I Google "women's motocross boots."

Alpinestars Stella Tech 6

I mean, it can't get any worse. The first site that comes up offers me the Oneal boots. Cute, functional, flares of pink. Unfortunately, I'm one of those girls who isn't incredibly fond of pink. I am goo goo for the color red and that's about as close to pink as I can get. I don't like to advertise that I'm a chick on the bike. Pink screams "girl rider waiting for you to ridicule." I mean, the one time I accidently forget to put the kick stand up while attempting to ride away becomes a whole "chicks shouldn't ride" episode if there's any pink involved. (Not that I know what happens if you forget to put the stand up.) The Oneals are around $100 but I can't tell if they are waterproof. I need waterproof since I live in Oregon and the weather here is mostly rain with showers thrown in. And, frankly, I worry about the quality of a pair of boots that are so economically priced. I like the look of the Alpinestars Stella Tech 6 boots which come in around $199 on sale (regularly $279). But, again, no mention of water resistance or proofing. This is more work than I had anticipated or wanted.

Anyone want to share what they are wearing? How do they fit? Any suggestions? Is waterproof/gortex important or worth the cost? Help me before I drown in a sea of high heel motorcycle boots fit for a porn star!

A full off-road boot is probably overkill for your needs. By nature they're extremely stiff and difficult to take on and off. Walking around in a pair is amusing.

For street and light-to-medium off road riding I'd recommend a pair of "adventure" or "dual-sport" boots. Alpinestars Scout, Sidi On-Road, and Rev'it Apache are good examples.

I prefer Daytona boots, but their Trans-Open dual-sport boot is not easy to buy right now -- the factory won't resume production until August and the only US dealer is in San Jose.

I've worn a pair of street biased Daytona Gore-Tex boots as my daily commuting boot for the past 2 years. They've been wonderful but they just started leaking like a sieve.

A motorcycle boot is a tough environment for Gore-Tex -- all the flexing wears down on the membranes and can cause leaks. Searching for "[boot name] leaks" can be enlightening! Just something to be aware of when boot shopping.

Thanks Stacy and Guido (and Fuzzy for tossing it out to her facebook crowd). I do like the Danners I'm wearing but feel like if i'm going to do a long trip I need something a little more geared toward motos specifically. The Santiagos, Alpinestars and Daytonas are all nice... I think I need to hit a store and try them all on! Thanks again!

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This blog is named after my dog Trout, who is often wet...and ironically, a wet trout is a fisherman's term that means "to smack a person with a fresh trout for being an idiot" and I'm often an idiot.

In addition to being an idiot, I'm a certified BBQ judge who enjoys traveling, writing, ghost hunting, motorcycles, Glamping in my RV, floating the river and kayaking, hiking, fishing, and spending time with my furball. I'm sarcastic, witty, over-educated, and quite possibly the most annoying person you'll ever meet. Welcome to my world.